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'Smile' Follow-Up Shines Bright

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By CURTIS ROSS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 4, 2008

Updated:

It's easy to see "That Lucky Old Sun" as the spawn of "Smile." Brian Wilson finally got free of that albatross four years ago, completing the album he abandoned in 1967 as his fragile mental and emotional states collided with his ambitions.

Lo and behold, "Smile," even after all those years, was a masterpiece, and the subsequent tour an unqualified success. That's both bad and good news for "That Lucky Old Sun."

On one hand, it creates unrealistic expectations for an artist whose solo career has been spotty at best. On the other hand, "Smile" seems to have reinvigorated Wilson: "That Lucky Old Sun" is his most ambitious new effort of his solo years.

An homage to Los Angeles, "That Lucky Old Sun" suffers from some of the same inconsistencies of Wilson's other solo works - awkward or pedestrian lyrics and uninspired melodies. But the album's focus feels solid, and the playing, by Wilson's fantastic touring band, is always sympathetic.

The last portion of the album is when it all comes together, as Wilson, through Scott Bennett's lyrics, looks back on his troubled past and celebrates his re-emergence. As Wilson sings on "Going Home": At 25 I turned out the light / Cause I couldn't handle the glare in my tired eyes / But now I'm back, drawing shades of kind blue skies.

The closing number, "Southern California," in which Wilson recalls Singing with my brothers / In harmony, is the most personal and moving tune he has done since "'Til I Die," only a lot more optimistic.

"Sun" isn't "Smile," not could it have been. But it's a welcome sign that Wilson's emergence from the darkness may just be for keeps.

Download this: "Going Home"

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